Chapter 64: A Chance to Prove

The fifth surgery was for a trauma emergency patient.

The patient had a split in his chin, but the X-ray showed no bone injury.

All that was needed was debridement and suturing.

Zhou Can saw a golden opportunity.

This patient’s suturing was virtually risk-free.

He was determined to grab the chance to suture and really impress.

Otherwise, if he stayed on the sidelines, not just today but tomorrow or the day after, he would never earn a genuine chance to hone his skills under Dr. Fu.

“Dr. Fu, may I take the suturing opportunity?”

Zhou Can mustered all his courage to ask for the chance.

Dr. Fu looked at him, his expression softening slightly.

Since the risk for this surgery was extremely low and completely under control.

It was also a good chance to evaluate Zhou Can’s surgical skills.

But before Dr. Fu could reply, Dr. Lu jumped in, saying, “I worked with Dr. Zhou for a couple of days. Although his ability is promising, he’s only just completed two days of residency training. This surgery involves the head and face and has some risk. Let me demonstrate for him. Is that acceptable, Dr. Fu?”

Right there in front of the patient, Dr. Lu completely exposed Zhou Can’s modest experience. The patient’s eyes immediately filled with disdain and contempt—who would trust a rookie who’d only just begun residency with two days of training?

Dr. Fu and Dr. Lu had a much closer relationship.

They had worked together for many years.

Dr. Fu wouldn’t want to embarrass Dr. Lu.

Besides, Dr. Lu’s reasoning was sound.

“Alright, alright! Dr. Lu’s judgment is more thorough,”

Dr. Fu agreed readily.

The patient let out a small sigh of relief, swallowing any thoughts of refusing Zhou Can’s suturing.

Inside, Zhou Can cursed silently—Dr. Lu was so underhanded.

He knew all too well that he had successfully performed even more challenging surgeries independently.

Yet at this crucial moment, Dr. Lu stepped in to block his chance to shine.

It was nothing more than plain jealousy.

He didn’t want Zhou Can to earn Dr. Fu’s approval.

Without this opportunity, Zhou Can’s chances to gain essential surgical experience would be slim.

“Watch closely, Xiao Zhou! If it were someone else, I wouldn’t be so patient. Let’s first check the injury on the patient…”

The more he listened, the more nauseated he felt.

Mediocre surgical skills, and yet here he was acting as a teacher, arrogantly instructing Zhou Can on debridement and suturing techniques.

Zhou Can felt as if he were being force-fed manure.

In truth, he’d sensed as early as yesterday that Dr. Lu feared being surpassed and was already consumed by jealousy.

He never expected Dr. Lu to set a trap for him today.

That surgery opportunity was clearly lost.

And next time he might face further obstruction from Dr. Lu when a suitable surgery came up.

This was a difficult situation.

Zhou Can’s status and connections paled in comparison to the seasoned Dr. Lu.

Being constantly stifled by that idiot made it nearly impossible to break through.

After suturing the injured patient’s chin, the patient left.

As for the suturing quality, it was barely up to a junior resident’s standard. That was the true, unfiltered skill of Dr. Lu.

One might even suspect that his senior resident status was bought.

Under normal circumstances, top senior residents should at least achieve excellent suturing skills, while even an average one would be solidly competent.

There are no shortcuts in surgery.

Hard work always pays off.

Dr. Lu was typically so lazy that he rarely practiced privately. It was unsurprising that his skills lagged behind those of his peers.

“Xiao Zhou, how’s your learning going? There’s a lot to know about needle placement and knot tying when suturing,” Dr. Lu, posing as a senior, started to ‘coach’ Zhou Can.

“I’ve learned a bit,” Zhou Can replied solemnly, forced to praise even after being fed manure.

It left him feeling utterly frustrated.

“Come on, tell Dr. Fu and me exactly what you’ve learned,” Dr. Lu pressed, his smile growing even wider.

“For instance, if you mess up a knot, you can undo it and start over. Or if your needle entry is off even slightly, you can tighten the suture and secure it with three knots,” Zhou Can explained seriously.

Thud!

Nurse Liu Xia almost burst out laughing.

She quickly turned her head, though her shoulders still trembled slightly.

Dr. Fu couldn’t help but chuckle too, though he soon suppressed his laughter out of respect for Dr. Lu.

His eyes were wide open and his lips were pressed tight, as if glued shut.

That expression alone was quite comical.

Dr. Lu froze for a moment before his smile vanished, replaced by a steely, angry pallor as his fists clenched tightly.

After several deep breaths, he managed to subdue the rising fury in his chest.

What fault did Zhou Can have?

He had merely spoken the truth.

After all, it was Dr. Lu who had initiated the questioning.

“Call in the next patient for surgery!”

Dr. Fu quickly diffused the awkward situation for Dr. Lu.

After this incident, Dr. Lu would likely rein it in, no longer treating Zhou Can like a fool.

“Ouch… ouch ouch…”

A man in his twenties was pushed into the operating room. A tear in the right side of his pants had already stained a large area of his jeans with blood.

Based on experience, it appeared he’d been pricked by a sharp instrument on his thigh.

Judging from his attire, he looked like a laborer from a construction site or a mechanic from a repair shop.

“What happened to him?”

“He got into an accident with another worker while operating a grinding wheel. A fragment from the shattered wheel pierced his pants and lodged in his flesh. We need to perform a subcutaneous foreign body removal!”

“Has he been examined?”

“The X-ray showed no bone injury.”

“Alright, get on with it!”

Dr. Fu carefully examined the patient’s CT scans.

Dr. Lu leaned in to take a look as well.

Meanwhile, Zhou Can furrowed his brows as he watched the patient’s pained groans.

At first glance, he sensed something was off about this patient.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

The patient’s complexion was much paler than usual, and his lips looked equally as faint.

Moreover, the blood flowing from the patient’s right leg was strikingly bright red.

Instinctively, as a doctor, Zhou Can felt that there was something abnormal here.

This was because his diagnostic skills had sharpened with progress in his surgical training, giving him a keen intuition for hidden ailments.

To better assess the situation, Zhou Can stepped forward to examine the patient closely.

Dr. Lu shot him a quick glance.

“The foreign body isn’t embedded too deeply, so removal shouldn’t be too difficult. Dr. Fu, why not let me handle it?”

Dr. Lu was usually exceedingly lazy.

But today, he had become unusually proactive.

When things deviate from the norm, there’s always a catch.

Zhou Can could practically guess Dr. Lu’s plan with his eyes closed.

It was obvious he was trying to snatch away this chance at experience since Zhou Can was so invested in this patient.

So he decided to act decisively.

Before Zhou Can could even speak, Dr. Lu had already seized the surgical opportunity.

“A subcutaneous foreign body removal is only a minor procedure. The object is lodged in the lower limb, so there’s little risk. You’re fully capable of handling the surgery,”

Dr. Fu confidently entrusted the surgery to Dr. Lu.

He wondered silently why Dr. Lu was so eager today.

It seemed that a bit of competition was healthy!

In the past, Dr. Lu was known for procrastination—no superior doctor would ever praise his laziness.

Now, seeing Dr. Lu become so industrious, Dr. Fu felt rather pleased.

“You’ve done several surgeries this morning and must be exhausted. Leave this one to me and Xiao Zhou. You take a break while we handle the operation.”

Dr. Lu, despite his many flaws, had an extraordinary talent for flattering his seniors.

He maintained good relations with several senior doctors.

In a word, he was the type to suck up to those above him.

“Xiao Zhou, cut open the patient’s trousers and clean the surgical area,” Dr. Lu ordered bluntly.